IP Surveillance #16

February 06, 2026 · 9 min read

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Welcome to IP Surveillance #16, your weekly scan of the books, articles, podcasts, games, and alternative IP that Hollywood should be watching — before everyone else does.

From federal agents who can't be investigated to Russian intelligence recruiting arsonists on Telegram, the IP emerging right now is built on a single structural tension — powerful institutions that refuse to police themselves, and the outsiders who step into the breach. It's the DNA of prestige television, and it's everywhere.

In this edition: Baldur's Gate goes to HBO with Craig Mazin, Jeremy Strong stars in Franzen's Crossroads for Netflix, Sundance's biggest sales, five unoptioned books with breakout potential, and the long-form journalism that's structurally pre-adapted for the screen.

Friday Briefing #21: The Box Office Is Breathing Again

Hollywood finally got a week that felt less defensive. Theaters have a real hit on the board, another ambitious film still drawing crowds, and just enough momentum for executives to talk about growth again instead of only cuts. None of that cancels Sony’s layoffs, the labor question, or the fight...

Apr 11

IP Surveillance #22

The market this week is drawing a harder line than it used to. Buyers still want IP, but they increasingly want it to arrive either pre-legitimized by prestige, talent, or institutional weight, or pre-scaled by franchise logic and audience behavior. That is why A24 moved early on Patrick Radden Keefe’

Apr 10

Friday Briefing #20: The New King of the Mountain

Netflix folds. Paramount wins WBD. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms sticks the landing. Project Hail Mary first reactions are extraordinary. And Glen Powell's new movie is dead.

Feb 27

IP Surveillance #20: The Paramount-WBD Leviathan

Netflix walks away. Paramount wins. The merger that changes everything — plus Tayari Jones, a Trotsky thriller, and a video game franchise finally going live-action.

Feb 27

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